


Close Your Eyes, Close Your Eyes…

by soprano_buddy15



Series: Peace After Battle [10]
Category: The Last Kingdom, The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Comfort, Episode 9, F/M, Nightmares, PTSD, Post Season 4, Spoilers for Season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprano_buddy15/pseuds/soprano_buddy15
Summary: Sihtric has a nightmare, and Ealhswith is there to help him.
Relationships: Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom)
Series: Peace After Battle [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736485
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Close Your Eyes, Close Your Eyes…

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Java_Blythe_Peralta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Java_Blythe_Peralta/gifts).



> Whoa I am on a roll, guys. 
> 
> Also apparently my last post was my 30th fic? That’s crazy. 
> 
> The song “Everything’s Alright” from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar has been running through my head all day and I just knew I had to do something with it. A lot of the dialogue actually comes straight from the music, so kudos to Tim Rice for some awesome lyrics! (And Andrew Lloyd Webber for the music and just a straight up amazing musical.)
> 
> Please note that Sihtric is experiencing PTSD and there are hints of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Please find help and talk to someone if you are struggling with this.
> 
> Anyway’s, I hope you enjoy because I think it was very sweet! 
> 
> Constructive comments are always welcome! Just don’t be rude, because nobody wants that.

Ealhswith woke with a start when Sihtric sat upright, breathing heavily and sweat pouring down his forehead and chest. 

He was leaning forward, head in hands, running his fingers through his curly hair. His shoulders were shaking and Ealhswith could see how tense the muscles in his back were. “What happened?” She asked softly. It was the middle of the night; the sky was still dark, and the embers in the hearth were burning very low. 

“Just a nightmare,” he muttered, his breathing already slowing down. He tried to hide his trembling hands underneath the furs, but Ealhswith had been married to him long enough that she knew that his nightmare was unnerving and unsettling. 

“It’s not ‘just a nightmare,’” she said, reaching under the furs and holding on to his hands firmly. His eyes sought hers, and she gently cupped his jaw in her hand. His face was clammy. “Tell me, Sihtric.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “I was in the forest again,” he whispered. “And Haesten tied us up in the tree.”

Anger and hurt washed through her. It had been nearly a year since that day, and the subsequent Siege of Winchester. She knew it had bothered him deeply. She could see it in the way he cleaned under his nails constantly, in the way he was always tidying up his medicine cabinet. The furs were always folded away nicely in the morning, and his boots were tucked up in the corner instead of just beside the bed. 

At first, Ealhswith thought little of it. Sihtric had always been particular, and Ealhswith had just assumed that after coming home to the hectic life of being a father of two, he had decided to be a little more neat. 

But slowly, the nightmares had started. It was subtle, but he would hesitate before grabbing a length of rope to bind something together. 

“Wait here,” she said, and left Sihtric in their bed as she walked into the main room. He made a noise of confusion, but was patiently sitting there when she came back with a bucket of cool water and a cloth. 

She placed the bucket on the ground beside the bed, settled herself behind her husband, and crossed her legs. “Lean back,” she commanded.

He settled himself down, his head resting in the cross of her legs. She brushed his hair off of his neck and back from his forehead. His neck was tight, and she rubbed circles into the muscles as he made himself comfortable. 

He sighed deeply, and she grabbed the cloth from the bucket and wrung it out. He sighed again as she ran the cool cloth over his forehead, wiping away the sweat and cooling his hot skin. 

She left on of the cloths on his forehead and face, and wrung out another one before running it over his shoulders and chest. 

He ran his hands up her arms as she dipped it in the bucket again. “This feels wonderful, my love.”

“I want you to sleep well tonight,” she whispered softly. She could feel him begin to relax, his eyes closed and his breathing starting to even out. 

His lips quirked into a small smile. “I think I shall after this.” But she could hear a bit of worry in his voice. 

She pulled the cloth off of his forehead, running her fingers through his thick curls. He made a content sound as she rubbed circles into his scalp. “Sleep, Sihtric,” she said. “Everything’s alright.”

He took a deep breath, and as he let it out she felt him sink against her in sleep. 

She loved how relaxed he looked when he would go to sleep. But it had been a long time since she had seen him this calm when he slept. She remembered how he had always tried to make himself older than he was when they had first met, but when he would fall asleep beside her his youth would show clearly. She adored it. 

But his years with Uhtred had hardened him, even in sleep. Many times would she wake up to find him pacing in the main room, checking up on their young son. It would ebb and flow, his restlessness, but this past battle had been the hardest on him. 

She continued to run her fingers through his hair, and his breathing was deep and even. Perhaps tonight, he would sleep long past the early morning call and get the rest that he needed. 

“Sleep, Sihtric. Forget all about the world.”

*****

The next time Ealhswith woke, it was because Sihtric was kissing her shoulder. She squirmed as his beard scratched against her bare skin, but she rolled over to greet him with a proper morning kiss. “Did you sleep well?” She asked.

He played with a curl of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. “I had no nightmares,” he whispered with a smile. “I have not slept that deeply in many months.”

“I know,” she smiled. She glanced out the window and noticed that the sun was high in the sky. It was a miracle that their children had not woken yet. “You needed it.”

Sihtric nodded, and the smile slid from his face. “I worry that it will overwhelm me,” he admitted. 

She nodded, understanding his fear. “We’ll be alright,” she assured him. “You’ll be alright.”

He smiled, kissing her tenderly. “I will try not to worry,” he promised. “You are my everything.”

She had loved Sihtric for years, but he never failed to make her fall in love with him all over again. His sweetness and dedication to her was something that she cherished greatly. 

She went in for another kiss, words not enough to respond to him. She knew that he would still have bad nights, still wake up shaking as if he had just been strung up. But for right now, they could close their eyes and relax, thinking of nothing but their love for each other.


End file.
